Apple expected to launch 3 HDTV models by March 2012 - report

Apple will likely launch a new high-definition television set in March 2012 with three screen sizes and price points, one Wall Street analyst claims.

Trip Chowdhry with Global Equities Research issued a note to investors on Sunday in which he shared his "converged view" on an anticipated Apple HDTV, with information based on details culled from a number of developer events he attended.

Chowdhry said the product that is most similar to Apple's rumored HDTV is the Bose VideoWave, a 46-inch LCD HDTV with an integrated surround-sound speaker system. The VideoWave aims to simplify HDTVs by reducing clutter, and to improve picture and sound quality.

The Bose VideoWave gives the greatest sense of where Apple's alleged HDTV may be heading, Chowdhry claimed. He said his "converged view" of data from various developers is "probably" 75 percent accurate, and that it will "probably" be launched in March of 2012, with developer sessions at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Apple's rumored HDTV is apparently being benchmarked against the VideoWave because it has reduced its number of cables to just three. Chowdhry believes that any television set from Apple would have just one cable.

The VideoWave also sports a thickness of six inches, packing in 16 speakers. Chowdhry said that Apple's purported HDTV will be a third as thick and will also have 16 speakers.

"These 16 built-in speakers gives a complete surround sound experience, without the need for any external speakers," he said.

Bose's HDTV product comes in just one screen size and price point: 46 inches for $5,200. Chowdhry said that an HDTV from Apple will have three screen sizes and three price points.

"The DSP chip in Apple HDTV is a brand new chip based on Apple's acquisition of PA Semi," he added. "As of now, this new chip is not in mass production."

Claims of a forthcoming Apple-branded Internet-connected HDTV are not new, and one report from April even suggested that Apple could release its own television set this year. One analysis issued earlier this month found that Apple's market capitalization could grow by $100 billion if it were to enter the HDTV market.

I don't know about these price points. The HDTV market has quickly raced to the bottom, with expensive models and larger screens being more niche products. Plus, the larger the screen, the more quality is an issue. Apple would have to embrace 1080p content. They're all about higher quality screens on Mac and iOS devices, but on AppleTV, they're still stuck in the 720p era.

I'd love to see what Apple has in mind for future TVs, but I'm skeptical.

What a bunch of crap... Like Apple is going to jump right in the middle of HDTVs and offer THREE models all at the same time. Apple's offerings in their computer and phone divisions are limited to 1 or 2, with slight customization. They are not going to suddenly offer 3 models in a market they have never appeared in before.

This rumor of Apple entering the TV arena has been kicked around for years. It might one day become a reality, but for now it is just a means for some know-nothing analyst to make a name for himself.

Rumor followed by skeptical, sarcastic responses. See above. This reminds me of something... wait a minute... wait a minute... There was this rumor in 2006 about an "i" thing that everybody was laughing at Apple about. Something about a mature, commoditized, cutthroat market that would eat Apple alive? Well, they're not laughing any more are they. And why did Apple remove "Computer" from its corporate name? Let me think about that one again.

I can see most people are being skeptical however, this might very well be the only way Apple can mass market their Apple TV and sell/rent movies through iTunes.

Apple is selling lots of Apple TVs, but TV manufacturers are already pre-installing NetFlix and Google TVs into their products making the Apple TV a harder sell even-though ATV has higher quality interface and content.

So if Apple sticks an ATV into say an LG, and calls it Apple TV 52" they'll make money off of iTunes, the TV, and ATV. Moreover, SJ will be able to "stick it" to Google.

Premium HDTVs don't sell, I know, I have a Pioneer KURO which cost a small fortune and is still far and away the best HDTV ever made... but few people bought them.

Could Apple really hope to compete with the likes of Samsung and Panasonic? The only unique selling point would be iTunes store stuff, which isn't exactly enough to convince people to buy the Apple TV. Plus Samsung and the like already offer fully connected TVs with access to several streaming services, few of which, one would imagine, Apple would support.